A 30-year-old Aldi worker, Jodie Willsher, was stabbed to death in front of terrorized shoppers at a store in Skipton, North Yorkshire, a few days before Christmas 2017 by 45-year-old Neville Hord who has since been described as a "monster". It has now been reported that his minimum jail sentence has been cut down by three years.

Hord planned the knife attack for more than two weeks because he blamed Willsher for his break-up with her mother. He confessed to the crime and was sentenced to life in prison at the Bradford Crown Court in March where Judge Jonathan Durham Hall ordered that he serve a minimum of 30 years in jail.

The Daily Mail reported on October 23, however, that Hord's minimum term has been cut down to 27 years by judges who sit at the Court of Appeal in London.

Justice Nicholas Goose told the court that Hord had been in a relationship with Nicole Dinsdale, Willsher's mother, for a few months before they broke up in September 2017.

At the time of the frenzied knife attack against Willsher, Hord was on bail for attacking Dinsdale and making threats to kill her daughter, whom he despised because he blamed her for his failed relationship with the mother. The judge said that Dinsdale had later described the relationship to be "controlling" and also said that he had tried to drive a wedge between her and her daughter.

For over two weeks after the break-up, Hord planned the killing and bought two knives, an ax, a crossbow, and also made inquiries about purchasing a gun. He even put a tracking device on Willsher's car and made sure to look up the time the Aldi supermarket in Skipton, North Yorkshire, where she worked was open.

The judge went on to describe that only four days before Christmas 2017, Hord, a plumber, parked his vehicle at a McDonald's nearby and ate a snack before he walked into the bustling supermarket with his knife. He then went back to his car, grabbed the ax and returned to the store before "calmly" walking around until he spotted Willsher.

Hord proceeded to violently stab the married mother-of-one in front of horrified shoppers and the vicious attack was caught on surveillance cameras. The crazed man continued to stab her even after they were both on the floor after attempts were made by onlookers to stop him.

Willsher ended up with five slash wounds and 11 stab wounds to her head and body. One of these even managed to bend the knife. The authorities found the crossbow in Hord's car in the Aldi parking lot as well as 50 bolts, a lot of diesel, and cable ties.

At his sentencing that took place in March, Judge Hall told him: "You are a monster, Mr. Hord." The judge also said that the murder was calculated in order to cause the "maximum pain, horror, shock and trauma". He told the plumber that he will probably never be released from jail. In a statement that Willsher's devastated husband read out in the court at that time, he said that he was afraid that Hord would be released from prison and hurt their four-year-old daughter, Megan.

Hord's lawyers, who watched the appeal hearing over a video-link from prison, argued in court that the original sentence was too long. Justice Goose, who was sitting with two other judges, also agreed that Judge Hall had set the minimum term "too high".

Copy to Clipboard

SORT BY

RELEVANCEDATE

MEAWW is an initialism for Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide. We are one of the world’s fastest growing
media-tech companies with hubs around the world. MEAWW brings you the best content from its global team of
reporters on a platform technologically tailored to meet the needs of the modern reader.

SUBSCRIBE

MEAWW is an initialism for Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide. We are one of the world’s fastest growing
media-tech companies with hubs around the world. MEAWW brings you the best content from its global team of
reporters on a platform technologically tailored to meet the needs of the modern reader.